Is Generation Y Tweeting?

For a Web site so hot that it’s spawned search engines focused solely on 140-character updates, according to one study, Twitter isn’t quite as popular with the digital natives.

The study showed that only 22% of 18- to 24-year-olds used Twitter. Conducted by Participatory Marketing Network, a unit of marketing firm Aiti Solutions, and Pace University’s business school, it polled the 200 Generation Y-ers — mostly Pace students — on their social-media habits.

Of those who did use Twitter, 85% said they follow friends, 54% follow celebrities, 29% follow family members and 29% follow companies.

Young folks’ reluctance to embrace the microblogging service was a subject of discussion at Twtrcon, a conference last weekend that was focused on Twitter. “If [18-24 year olds] are texting, using social networks,” said Michael Della Penna, a co-founder of Aiti, “what is the social value of Twitter?”

To capitalize on the Gen Y demographic, marketers have to define the benefits of using Twitter, he said, emphasizing how users can make new friends and followers as well as connect with experts (and celebrities, and celebrity experts) “that you normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet.”

But perhaps the average college student isn’t looking for financial tweets from Suze Orman, whom Mr. Della Penna said he recently connected with on Twitter. Applications might draw in more users: Of the 99% of respondents who belonged to social-networking sites, 89% said they had installed an application on their profile page. Of the 38% who owned an Apple iPhone or iPod touch, 53% had downloaded games.

As Twitter’s founders have said, they are developing more features for the service. “You’ll see a lot more innovation in months and years to come,” Mr. Della Penna predicted.